Intake and exhaust manifold



Oct. 9, 1956 L. v. OSTRANDER 2,765,789

INTAKE AND EXHAUST MANIFOLD Filed Jan. 20, 1954 3 SheetsSheet 1 INVENTOR ATORNEY Oct. 9, 1956 L. v. OSTRANDER 0 INTAKE AND EXHAUST MANIFOLD Filed Jan. 20, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ATTORNEY O t. 9, 1956 v. OSTRANDER 2,765,780

INTAKE AND EXHAUST MANIFOLD Filed Jan. 20, 1954 S Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR ATREY INTAKE AND EXHAUST MANIFOLD Lester V. Ostrander, Pontiac, Mich., assignor to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Application January 20, 1954, Serial No. 4053170 4 Claims. (Cl. 123-52) The present invention relates to internal combustion engines and more particularly to the intake and exhaust systems therefor.

In the construction of internal combustion engines such as an in-line engine of the so-called L-head type, it is a common practice for the intake ports and the exhaust ports to be disposed in substantial alignment on the same side of the cylinder block. This results in the fuel supply system and exhaust system being disposed on the same side of the engine with certain parts of each system such as the manifolds being disposed in close proximity to each other. Since the hot exhaust gases in the cylinders are discharged directly into the exhaust manifold from the cylinders, the exhaust manifold frequently becomes extremely hot. Although there may be enough space and circulation of air between the adjacent parts to prevent the heat being transferred by conduction or connection, there may still be a considerable amount of heat transferred by radiation. If the intake manifold is disposed adjacent the exhaust manifold, the heat radiated from the exhaust manifold and absorbed by the intake manifold may cause the temperature of the intake manifold to rise. This in turn may cause the charge passing through the intake manifold to be heated and cause a resultant reduction in the volumetric efficiency. In addition, if other parts of the fuel supply system such as the fuel pump are disposed adjacent the exhaust manifold, enough of the radiated heat may be absorbed by the fuel pump to heat the volatile fuels contained therein sufficiently to cause the fuels to vaporize and cause a vapor lock to occur and prevent operation of the pump.

It is now proposed to provide means to prevent the transfer of heat from the exhaust manifold to the adjacent parts of the fuel supply system such as the induction system and the fuel pumping means. The transfer of heat from one system to the other may be greatly reduced or entirely eliminated by employing insulating means. Since the heat is normally transferred by radiation, the insulating means may comprise a radiation shield which is disposed between the adjacent portions of the exhaust system and the fuel system.

At the present time it is the practice to employ intake manifolds which have intricate passages therethrough. These manifolds are normally a single member fabricated by means of a casting process. Since the sizes of different types of engines vary, there are considerable variations in the positioning of the intake ports, and accordingly, it is necessary that a special cast manifold be made for each engine. This is an expensive process and frequently results in stocking a large variety of manifolds.

It is now proposed to employ a manifold which is not only light but may readily be adapted for use on a large variety of engines. Each of the intake passages are shaped so that they may be contained in a single rigid member. The manifold may be assembled from a plurality of these substantially identical members. The

States Patent members may be assembled together to form an intake manifold suitable for use on a large variety of engines.

One of the factors which limits the amount of power developed by an internal combustion engine is the amount of combustible fuel charge that can be delivered to the cylinders. The passages in the various parts of the induction system such as in the intake manifold present a considerable amount of resistance to the flow of the fuel charges therethrough. This resistance to the flow of the fuel charge therethrough may become so large during full throttle conditions that the volumetric efliciency will be decreased so as to limit the power developed by the engine.

it is now proposed to increase the power developed by an engine by providing an intake manifold which will present the minimum amount of flow resistance. This is to be accomplished by employing a manifold having a plurality of carburetors that charge the engine cylinders through very short intake passages. Each of the intake passages may be provided with gentle reverse curve which permits the intake manifold to be employed adjacent an exhaust manifold on an in-line engine.

In order to decrease the wind resistance of an automotive vehicle, it is desirable to decrease the frontal area of the vehicle by employing a very low body. When employing a low body the overall height of the engine frequently presents an obstacle such as the air cleaner and silencer assembly that prevents lowering the engine hood as much as might be desirable.

It is now proposed to provide an intake manifold which employs a plurality of side draft carburetors. This will permit the overall height of the engine to be decreased by placing the carburetors and air cleaners to be disposed along the sides of the engine rather than above.

In the three sheets of drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of an engine employing the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan of the engine of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an end view taken substantially along the plane of line 33 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an end view similar to Fig. 3 with portions thereof being broken away.

Referring to the drawings in more detail, the present invention may be embodied in any suitable engine 10; The present engine 10 is an in-line engine having a fuel supply system 12 for delivering a combustible charge to the cylinders and an exhaust system 14 for discharging the burned charges from the cylinders. The engine 10 includes a cylinder block 16 which may have a row of intake ports 18 and exhaust ports 20 disposed along one side thereof for charging and exhausting the cylinders. In the present instance the intake ports 18 are disposed between adjacent cylinders so as to communicate with Siamese intake valves for the adjacent pairs of cylinders. The exhaust ports 20 for the end cylinders are disposed outside of the cylinders while those for the center cylinders are disposed between the intake ports 18.

The exhaust manifold 22 may be secured to the cylinder block 16 so as to extend longitudinally thereof substantially parallel to the row of ports 18 and 20. The exhaust manifold 22 may have a chamber that extends the length thereof and a plurality of short tubular portions 24 that communicate therewith. The tubular portions 24 may extend outwardly from the manifold 22 and form inlets 66 which are positioned to register with the exhaust ports 2%. Thus any exhaust gases discharged from the cylinders through the exhaust ports 20 will pass through the tubular portions 24 and collect in the chamber. In order to discharge the gases from this chambeer an outlet 28 may be provided in the center of the manifold 22. The present outlet 28 includes a flange 30 which is adapted to receive the flanged end 32 of an exhaust pipe 34 which discharges the exhaust gases into the atmosphere.

The fuel supply system 12 may include a fuel pump 36 and induction means 38 which may be mounted on the same side of the cylinder block 16 as the exhaust manifold 22. The fuel pump 36 may be of any suitable construction for pumping the fuel from its source through the pipes 40 and 42 to the induction means 38. The induction means 38 may include an intake manifold 44 which is secured to the cylinder block 16 and charge forming means such as a plurality of side draft carburetors 46 which are secured to the intake manifold 44 and have air filters 48 on the intake ends thereof.

The present intake manifold 44 comprises a plurality of substantially identical members 50, 52, 54 and 56 which have mounting flanges 58 and 60 on the opposite ends thereof. An intake passage 62 may extend longitudinally through each member 50, 52, 54 and 56 to form inlets 64 in one mounting flange 58 and an outlet 66 in the other mounting flange 60. The mounting flanges 6d are adapted to be secured to the cylinder block 16 so that the outlets 66 will register with the inlet ports 18. The mounting flanges 58 are adapted to have the carburetors 46 mounted thereon so as to communicate with the inlets 64. Thus it can be seen that the carburetors 46 communicate with the inlet ports 18 by means of the reversely curved intake passages 62 through the members t 52, 54 and 56.

If it is desired to insure that the conditions in each intake passage 62 are the same, it may be desirable to employ balance means such as the tubes 76, 78 and 80. Each member 50, 52, 54 and 56 may be provided with a pair of passages 82 that extend inwardly from the opposite sides thereof. Each passage 82 which com- 'municates with an intake passage 62 may be threaded so as to receive the ends of one of the tubes 76, 78 or 80. The tubes 76, 78 or 80 are of a length corresponding to the spacing between the intake ports 18. Thus it can be seen that the manifold 44 may be adapted for use on engines having various spacings between the ports. The passages 82 in the end members 50 and 56 may be plugged to prevent air from the atmosphere entering the induction means 38.

In order to prevent the undesired transfer of any heat from the exhaust manifold 22 to the fuel supply system 12, it may be desirable to provide a heat insulating means between the fuel system 12 and the exhaust system 14 such as a shield means disposed about the exhaust manifold 22. A shield 86 is secured to the mounting flanges 60 on the intake manifold 44 so as to extend between the exhaust manifold 22 and the intake manifold 44. The shield 86 may extend substantially horizontally over the top of the exhaust manifold 22 and vertically downwardly along a side thereof. This shield 86 may be fabricated from any material which will prevent the radiated heat passing therethrough. It has been found that a reflecting surface will tend to reflect the heat back toward the exhaust manifold 22 and effectively reduce heating of the intake manifold 44 and carburetors 46. Thus it can be seen that any heat radiated from the manifold 22 will strike this shield 86 and be reflected therefrom so as to prevent transfer of the heat to the induction means 38.

In addition to the above shield 86, a second shield 98 may be disposed between the top of the fuel pump 36 and the exhaust manifold 22. In the present instance the shield 98 is mounted on the upper ends of a pair of short columns 100 that project up from the fuel pump 36. Thus any heat radiated downwardly from the manifold 22 will strike this shield 98 and M11 be prevented from entering the fuel pump 36.

It is to be understood that, although the invention has been described with specific reference to a particular embodiment thereof, it is not to be so limited since changes and alterations therein may be made which are within the full intended scope of this invention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An intake manifold for an engine 7 comprising a plurality of substantially identical members having mounting means on the axially opposite ends thereof, an intake passage extending longitudinally through each of said members and forming inlets and outlets in said mounting means on said opposite ends thereof, one of said mounting means being adapted to receive charge forming means and the other of said mounting means being adapted to be secured to said engine, balance passage means extending inwardly from the opposite sides of said manifold and communicating with said intake passage, said balance passage means being adapted to receive the ends of tubular means communicating with the intake passages of adjacent members.

2. A member adapted to be one of a plurality of identical members in an intake manifold for an engine having inlet ports, said member having mounting means on the axially opposite ends thereof, an intake passage extending longitudinally through said member and being adapted to form an inlet in one of said mounting means and an outlet in the other of said mounting means, the first of said mounting means being adapted to receive a carburetor to discharge into said inlet and said intake passage, the other of said mounting means being adapted to he s.- cured to said engine with said outlet registering with the inlet ports in said engine, balance passages extending inwardly from the sides of said member, each of saidbalance passages being adapted to receive the ends of tubular members adapted for communication with an intake passage in another of said identical member.

3. An intake manifold for use on an engine having a plurality of aligned intake ports communicating with the cylinders therein, said manifold comprising a plurality of substantially identical members having intake passages extending therethrough, said members being adapted to be secured to said engine with the axially opposite ends of said intake passages communicating with charge forming means and said intake ports, the ends of said intake passages connected to said charge forming means being normally disposed above the ends of said intake passages communicating with said engine, and tubular means disposed between adjacent members and interconnecting said intake passages in said members.

4. In an engine, a plurality of aligned cylinders having Siamese intake valves communicating with aligned intake ports in the side of said engine, an intake manifold having a plurality of substantially identical members secured to said engine with a plurality of tubes disposed therebetween, each of said identical members having intake passages positioned to form inlets on the axially opposite ends thereof adapted to communicate with charge forming means and outlets positioned to register with said intake ports, said tubes having balance passages therein communicating with the adjacent pairs of intake passages.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,781,890 Wiltse Nov. 18, 1930 1,782,333 Aseltine Nov. 18, 1930 1,825,381 Asire Sept. 29, 1931 1,926,019 Aseltine Sept. 12, 1933 2,157,034 Tice May 2, 1939 

